The annual ‘Defect Detectives’ educational outreach event was hosted by TWI Ltd at its Cambridge site for a third year. The event was jointly organised, with Matt Haslett, our Younger Members Committee Chairman, representing The Welding Institute in inspiring the young minds of the year 5 pupils from Fulbourn Primary School by bringing STEM subjects to life.

The 50 year 5 pupils were tasked with an activity involving robotic inspection using Lego Mindstorms EV3 Kits and programming equipment. The students worked in small teams of 4 to 5 with volunteer experts from TWI Ltd and NSIRC helping them out. The aim was to build and program a robot which could detect defects along a simulated weld line.

Their work was put to the test at the end of the day with a final competition consisting of the students’ robots travelling along a simulated weld line, fitted with defects, to test how successfully and accurately the robots could detect the defects.

Categories and winners:

Best design – Dare to Create

Best teamwork – NEVFF

Top Team – Dixie

The Welding Institute congratulates all pupils who took part in the competition for their enthusiasm towards their work!

Educational outreach days like this allow young pupils to understand real life applications of engineering and what it actually means to be an engineer. It allows the stereotypes and misconceptions of the engineering industry to be challenged by young minds as they are given the opportunity to see the extent of the engineering industry, all whilst promoting teamwork and design skills.

The successful event was jointly organised by Catherine Condie, Matt Haslett, Gabriela Gallegos and Ameni Lounissi with the support of 20 volunteers from TWI.

The event was organised in association with TWI, Granta Centre, NSIRC volunteers, and the Tipper Group, including support from the UK Robogals series. Cambridge Launchpad, a movement that aims to inspire people into STEM careers, were responsible for organising the ‘Defect Detectives’ engineering challenge.